Mississippi Says Police Killing of 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley Was Justified

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch's office said the police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley "was justified." The Guardian

Wiley was sitting in his mother's lap when he was shot. He was killed in Senatobia, Mississippi, four months before the announcement.

On 14 June, Senatobia officers were responding to a shoplifting call alleging Vellesiya Wiley and Latoya Ferrell had stolen a pack of diapers. Vellesiya Wiley is the mother of the child. Neither Wiley nor Ferrell has been charged with a crime in connection with the alleged shoplifting.

Wiley, Ferrell and the child had exited the store, entered their vehicle and begun to leave the parking lot when officers arrived. Wiley lifted the baby up to indicate there was a child in the car after police drew their weapons.

The officer who fired into the vehicle was identified by other records as Sgt Hunter Foster. The shooting killed Wiley's son and wounded Ferrell. Foster is white, while Kohen Wiley, Vellesiya Wiley and Ferrell are Black.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation alleged the driver "drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one." Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the family, released an independent autopsy indicating Wiley was shot from the side of the car, not the front.

Senatobia is a small city near Memphis and its population is about 40% Black. Harold Vanderford was serving as Senatobia police chief when Wiley was killed, after replacing the chief who served at the time of a 2023 arrest of a 10-year-old Black boy.

In September, Senatobia fired its police chief, who reportedly used racial slurs. Vanderford has been replaced as chief by Angelica Maze, who is Black.

Crump condemned the finding that the use of force was justified in the killing. Ben Crump Law The City of Senatobia and activists publicly responded after the announcement. Action News 5